Name: Aimee Danchise
Hometown: Randolph
Business: Inklings Baby
New Jersey Family: What makes your business unique?
Aimee Danchise: Inklings Baby is a majority women, part LGBTQ-owned brand that creates colorful, quirky baby toys and infant novels based on imaginary friends. Inklings are sensory focused, unique and gender-neutral.
NJF: What was your inspiration to launch Inklings Baby?
AD: We launched our first character, Ollie the Oddball Oddbird, in 2018 with a successful Kickstarter. My best friend and business partner Lex came up with the idea for Inklings after my daughter Evie received a lot of basic, boring baby gifts.
NJF: How do you balance motherhood with your business?
AD: It has taken me almost five years to finally realize that there is no balancing business and motherhood, especially when you’re an entrepreneur. You just have to integrate. Once I started to create boundaries for myself, I was able to let go of some of the worry and guilt.
NJF: What’s the best piece of business advice you’ve gotten that you want to share with others?
AD: Whenever you start something new, people will share their opinions, good or bad. Someone once told me, ‘It’s not that people are upset that you stepped outside the box. It’s that you reminded them that they are inside the box.’ If you have an idea or a passion, don’t be afraid to go for it.